What did you do today (2015)

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Bazyle on 01/02/2015 17:16:08:

Belt length calculator? When did bits of string become obsolete?

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I think it was when someone noticed how difficult it is to wrap string at the effective radius of a vee pulley

MichaelG.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Indeed. And if you think that's too virtual, the chain / belt function in 3D CAD is very useful for designing "real" belt sizes into your machine before you even have pulleys and bits of string in front of you. I did this in Solidworks and found the timing belt fitted perfectly when it arrived – handy really, given that I'd made the rest of the parts by then. Avoided having to provide Norma's great adjustment slots everywhere, which seemed like a bodge to me.

Murray

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Maker perspective on the Model Engineer Exhibition:

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

In between yet another day of getting things organized in the new workshop I needed to do a small turning job but as I have not yet plumbed in the coolant pump a squeezy bottle would have to make do.

The nozzle hole on the washing up liquid bottle turned out to be far to big for the job in hand squirting coolant at a rate of knots so I glue gunned a WD-40 "straw" in. A very good result with (depending how you hold/squeeze the bottle) anything from a few drops to a squirt.

Nothing much to write home about I know but it pleased me. As they say, little things………….

Rik

Edited By Rik Shaw on 02/02/2015 17:44:35

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Hey Rik

Some of us, lacking the luxury of coolant pumps, have to make do with the squeezy bottle method all the time! My own preference is for small bottles, obtained via ebay, with a right angled spout ( thus avoiding a squirt of coolant in the eye!) I believe these are sold as bottles for tattooist's inks. ( I should point out that I have no connection, and desire no connection, with tattooists – other than to use their bottles!)

Norman

Edited By NJH on 02/02/2015 18:09:01

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

New version of the Raspberry Pi is unveiled. Nice piece of kit for £23. Cortex A7 (ARM) quad core processor 900MHz /1GB RAM.

Joy of joys. As it will be almost as powerful as a proper PC (six times as powerful as the last version), "the Raspberry Pi 2-compatible version of Windows 10 will be available free of charge to makers". Should also be pretty good for machine control, assuming you run Linux of course….

Murray

[Peter BondParticipant @peterbond14804]

The quad-core element is great *if* the sw you run on it is configured for multiple cores. As it now has 4 USB ports instead of 2, that'll at least mean that WiFi, kbd & mouse can all be connected directly without needing a powered hub.

Mine I plan to use as a host for an SLA printer, so it'll be driving both the projector and the Z axis – I may need to help with some coding for the project too, depending on what state it's in by the time I get the printer.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Posted by Muzzer on 02/02/2015 18:23:40:

New version of the Raspberry Pi is unveiled. Nice piece of kit for £23. Cortex A7 (ARM) quad core processor 900MHz /1GB RAM.

Joy of joys. As it will be almost as powerful as a proper PC (six times as powerful as the last version), "the Raspberry Pi 2-compatible version of Windows 10 will be available free of charge to makers". Should also be pretty good for machine control, assuming you run Linux of course….

Murray

I wonder if Mach 4 is planned to be supported on Windows 10?

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Jupiter is really easy to spot right now, about three finger-widths left of the moon, very bright. Bins will show you three moons, I guess one's behind the planet right now.

Took some photos and had a go with the scope, but close up Jupiter looked like a squirming amoeba, probably my fault for pointing the scope out an open window instead of going out in the cold!

Neil.

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

Any where in this pic of the moon last night

Bob

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi Peter (Bond),
There was this link to a Youtube comparison between the model B+ and the version 2 on the Raspberry Pi forum. It does appear to show an improvment of speed. I ordered one last night that was claimed to be in stock (And at least another 2 showed in stock after ordering.) I received an email this evening saying they did not have any and they need to re order.

Les.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Les, CPC claim to have Rpi 2 in stock.

 

Bob, assuming the over-exposed moon is greatly exaggerated in size, the dot would be in the right place.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 03/02/2015 20:31:00

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

I have bought quite a few things from this place although there are several other stockists in the UK as well as Farnell/CPC and RS. They stock cases, breakout boards, accessories etc as well as the RPis themselves.

Although they appear to have stock of the 2 currently, they are saying that orders are delayed 1-2 days due to "extreme demand". I notice that the RPi website went down today too, presumably due to overload. Seems to be back up again now.

Murray

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi Neil,
RS claimed they were in stock last night and their price was slightly lower than CPC. I'm not impressed with their stock control system.

Les.

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi Murray,
I would normally buy from CPC or Farnell but RS claimed they were in stock and thy were cheaper. (£22.85 + £4.57 VAT = £27.42) I have not dealt with the company you link to. I noticed this morning that I could not dowload the latest software image from the RPi website but managed to do so this afternoon. I was expecting that there would be a different version to make better use of the quad core CPU.

Les.

[julian atkinsParticipant @julianatkins58923]

i made the front axlebox oil boxes for my 5"g terrier Stepney

cheers,

julian

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by John Haine on 03/02/2015 19:32:06:

I wonder if Mach 4 is planned to be supported on Windows 10?

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Probably be Windows 25 before it sees a working light of day

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Posted by John Haine on 03/02/2015 19:32:06:

I wonder if Mach 4 is planned to be supported on Windows 10?

If you look at machinekit.io, you'll find a development fork of LinuxCNC for the Arm-based Beaglebone. The original Pi was too slow to do much development on it, maybe the latest will be ok?

Anyway, lots of people around the world are running this top-notch CNC controller on Arm based boards, so you may want to check this project out.

Another (unabashed LinuxCNC-fan) John.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Les, Linux has supported multi core processors for many years (almost 20), so there's no need for any significant change. Assuming that the Broadcom device functions are already supported / implemented already, I doubt there's anything extra required to make the most of the new model.

The main impediment to implementing a full-blown CNC controller will be the requirement for additional, fast I/O. I'm sure / hope it won't be long before someone makes it available…

Murray

[Four stroke FredParticipant @fourstrokefred]

Julian – good to see the progress on your Terrier. I have set of casting that were purchased 45 years ago when I lived in the UK – perhaps like wine they improve with keeping! I must get motivated to complete the loco but keep getting side tracked with IC engines and model tractors. I have seen the full size locomotives on the Isle of Wight, York and the Bluebelle railways and think they are a great little loco. I did see a 71/4" version at the Wilton M E show a few years ago and it looked very good. Keep up the good work and I will be keeping an eye on your progress. Cheers for now, George (Fourstroke Fred)

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

I have been making parts for my 6" Ruston & Proctor traction engine and today assembled the main components for the boiler. The barrel just fitted on my milling machine, allowing me to machine holes for the manhole and water/steam fittings. After many hours of measuring and machining (and finger crossing) the parts fitted together. A great feeling !

Still some weld preparation to be done to some of the plates before having it welded. Many of the plate edges have a "J"-weld profile. The boiler assembly is held in place by temporary tabs which are tack welded to the boiler plates and barrel. These tabs are bolted together to allow me to remove the plates for final machining. They will be removed after it is fully welded.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 04/02/2015 08:37:41

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Interesting video showing use of Solidworks > Sprutcam > Tormach CNC mill to make a small bracket.

Good example of why CNC isn't just for "mass production", whatever that means in our context. Could be done manually but would involve a lot more setting up and handle twiddling. He could have been a fair bit more aggressive with speeds and feeds but as he says, he likes to play safe.

Murray

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Paul – nice work. Are the walls of the firebox usually as heavy as this – is it to scale? Looks like steel plate rather than sheet, so shouldn't be a problem getting nice welds or passing the pressure test surely!

Don't drop it on your toes!

Murray

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Yes looks like you are getting on well with the boiler, nice to be able to do all the prep yourself. Hope you have not got to get the completed boiler back onto that mill to skim the ends of the stays!

Murray the problem with steel boilers on models is the allowance for wasting (rust) is the same for a 2" model as it is for a full size so the plates can be a bit thick

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Muzzer on 04/02/2015 10:00:47:

Interesting video showing use of Solidworks > Sprutcam > Tormach CNC mill to make a small bracket.

Good example of why CNC isn't just for "mass production", whatever that means in our context. Could be done manually but would involve a lot more setting up and handle twiddling. He could have been a fair bit more aggressive with speeds and feeds but as he says, he likes to play safe.

Murray

Thanks a bunch for that link.

Then looked at the ones on the side and thats another 4 hours gone out of my life……………sigh.

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